A View on Israel

This is a long post from about a year ago, written by Sam Harris, noted atheist (or perhaps anti-theist).

As with any complex issue, the subject of Israel and the Palestinians is not easily resolved or reduced to a clear-cut solution. But Mr. Harris points out what I know I’ve felt is a great disparity, and he lays out his case in a careful, thoughtful manner.

I don’t agree with everything he wrote, of course. But his assessment of this situation seems spot-on to me.

I appreciate your view but I disagree. He raises points then answers the expected counterpoints with each paragraph. That a significant number of self-proclaiming Muslims want to wipe out the existence of Israel is beyond doubt. I don’t know why they want Jewish blood but they say they do, so we should listen.
Naturally as an atheist, he has a different moral perspective than I do, so some of his take is disagreeable to me. I think the point he makes isn’t that a holy book should be burned, but rather that the reactions we could expect would more likely be violent if it’s a Koran than if it’s a Bible, a copy of the Torah, or a Bhagavad Gita. His view is a pluralistic and secular society where we’re all free to express our views (including burning holy texts or doing and saying what others might deem offensive) without fear of violent retribution. To that extent I agree with him.